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Friday, November 2, 2012

Featured Artist David Cochran

DavidCochran is a current-day Renaissance artist, both literally and
figuratively.Starting at the age of
nine, he was compelled to draw things and spent his college years at the
Philadelphia College of Art & Studio School of Art and Design.He left school with the goal of becoming a
designer/illustrator and throughout his career has worked in publishing,
medical illustration, broadcasting and industrial design.“I used to tell people I worked down the hall
from dead people.I really worked as an
artist in a bio-medical communications department down the hall from where they
did autopsies.”

As early as
the 1980’s Cochran was expanding from physical paints into a new realm: the
digital age.He now works exclusively in
digital and in 2005 began to focus exclusively on his fine art.“When I saw what you could do with digital
pigments I couldn’t believe the quality!People may assume it’s easy, but the creativity, aesthetic sensibility
and technical expertise are much the same as physical painting.”

Fascinated
by the depiction of light, Cochran has sometimes been called, “the digital
Rembrandt,” an apt sobriquet in view of his moodier pieces, such as the recent
“Robin Hood,” a haunting exercise in chiaroscuro.But Cochran isn’t limited by one style or
subject, and his featured piece, “Father Christmas,” makes this flexibility
obvious.With a bright, nostalgic air
completed by drifting snowflakes and rosy cheeks, “Father Christmas” perfectly
summons both holiday memories and hopes.

An American
Frame customer since the 1970’s, Cochran found us while working as a custom
framer after college.“I saw the quality
of the frames and was overwhelmed at American Frames’ low prices.The service is great too.I’ve called with technical questions about
printing and talked to actual professional printing staff.That’s really rare.The online courses and instructional videos
are incredible and the selection of frames and mats is huge compared to other
online art sources.”

When Cochran
frames his own work he starts with the dominant colors in the image and chooses
mats first, a darker one for the bottom and lighter for the top.“I play around on American Frame’s virtual
framing tool, which is really innovative.”

We framed
“Father Christmas” with mellow tradition in mind.The ornate profile of the frame and rounded
top corners of the double mat lend an old-world feel and their colors were
chosen to subtly echo the secondary colors in the art (e.g. a splash of green,
a gold chain).By choosing secondary
hues to echo, the image’s dominant colors are complimented instead of
overwhelmed: Santa’s red coat and hat, his white beard and the falling snow.